*By Mike Teich*
A sweeping data privacy bill has been approved in California, but it may be too late for internet users to protect their information, said former National Counterterrorism Center officer Dave White.
"You have to consider yourself compromised," he said. "You’ve already given your data away."
Experts are calling it the nation's most far-reaching law to give consumers more control over their personal data. Under the law, customers can request what personal data companies have collected and what third parties have received it.
The passing of the historical bill didn't come without criticism. The ACLU of Northern California said the legislation falls "woefully short" in defending individuals' rights.
"It's a great first step," White said. However, “it doesn’t go far enough."
Companies that collect user data, from Amazon to Microsoft to Uber, lobbied aggressively against the law, pouring millions into a [opposition campaigns](https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/15/17468292/amazon-microsoft-uber-california-consumer-privacy-act).
But consumer advocates called it a milestone victory. "Today was a [huge win](http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/28/technology/california-consumer-privacy-act/index.html) and gives consumer privacy advocates a blueprint for success," James P. Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media. "We look forward to working together with lawmakers across the nation to ensure robust data privacy protections for all Americans."
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/california-passes-historic-privacy-bill).
Shares of Pandora surged Monday after the satellite radio company announced an all-stock deal to acquire the streaming service. Sirius made a $480 million investment in the company last year, taking about a 15 percent stake in it. BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield says the deal is probably bittersweet for Pandora which "really failed as a public company."
The blockchain has made its way into a slew of industries. Next at bat ー the sports world. The Los Angeles Dodgers are moving away from traditional promotions and have begun using crypto tokens to give away digital bobbleheads to fans. Ralph Esquibel, VP of information technology for the team, said this is the first giveaway of its kind and could lead to more experiments with cryptocurrencies.
GSTV, which delivers content across thousands of fuel retailers in the U.S., reaches 75 million unique visitors and hopes to reach one in two adults in the next few years. Sean McCaffrey, president and CEO of GSTV, said that the scale of the company is increasing daily.
GSTV recently partner with Cheddar to distribute content through its outlets.
The Canadian cannabis company has seen exponential growth with shares doubling since just mid-August, when Corona-maker Constellation Brands upped its stake with a $4 billion investment. CEO Bruce Linton said interest is now coming from pharma giants, which will rely on companies like Canopy for research, patented technology, and formulas.
Facebook plans to finally unveil its Portal video chat device for the home next week, Cheddar has learned. The device will function similarly to an Amazon Echo Show with social features and come in two screen sizes, according to people familiar the matter. The wide-angle video camera will use artificial intelligence to recognize people in the frame and follow them as they move throughout a room.
Amazon will get a lot more than 3,000 brick-and-mortar stores when it builds out its cashierless Amazon Go chain.
The tech giant announced a slew of new products and software for Alexa-enabled homes, betting that the voice assistant becomes the entryway into the company's ecosystem for many households. Among the new Echo devices: a microwave, a wall clock, and the Echo Auto.
Thursday's IPO, with shares priced at $23 near the high end of its range, implied a valuation of nearly $1.8 billion. By midday, the stock was trading over $37. Julia Hartz, Eventbrite CEO, said the company's relentless focus on the "mid-market" protects it from competition from Ticketmaster or Facebook.
What does crypto have to do with journalism? Civil Media thinks it can be the answer to some of the field's woes, from eroding trust to a collapsing business model. As CEO Matthew Iles explained, the start-up's token sale can help build an infrastructure that will serve as a new economy for newsrooms.
Eventbrite, the online "do-it-yourself" ticketing agency, went public on the NYSE Thursday with shares priced at $23. By midday though, the stock, trading under the ticker EB, was at $37. The company's Chief Brand Officer Brian Irving joined Cheddar to discuss the debut.
